Vaashtaanii
Appearance&Biology Vaashtaanii are humanoids and as such mirror humans in many ways. Distinctions from humans include forked ears, a tail, hands with two fingers and one thumb, and feet with four toes. They also possess sharp canine teeth. As a warrior-race, Vaashtanii are generally lean and muscular, very flexible and show heightened stamina. Other distinctions include prehensile tails, sharp incisors, three digit hands and four digit feet and forked ears. Vaashtanii reach biological adulthood/physical prime in ten years but are not considered to be adults amongst their people until the age of 20. By 70 most Vaashtanii warriors have shown their first signs of slowing down, but this is so slight that it is only ever noticed by another Vaashtanii. No one is quite sure how long Vaashtaanii live due to their warrior lifestyle; it is noteworthy that many Vaashtanii are slain after about 140 years of life. Some think that this is because Vaashtanii begin the final stages of their lives around then. Male and female Vaashtanii vary in much the same ways that human males and females vary. A Vaashtanii is very rarely thickset. Some people think this is purely because of their tendency to be muscular but others think that it is a biological standard because of the Vaashtanii lifestyle. Pregnant Vaashatanii women become extremely aggressive and undergo a mutation that enhances their physical and biological make up effectively making them stronger, faster, and smarter. This mutation persists until a year after birth. Vaashtaanii breed quickly. Pregnancy lasted for six months and woman would often give birth to two or three children at a time. Vaashtaanii bones are much denser than Human bones; approximately 1.6 times as dense. Their skin retains less water than Humans and they have stronger lungs, a superior respiratory system and accelerated nervous system. Natural nightvision is an effect of low light levels in their homerealm. Their tails may seem to be exposed bone but are actually covered in tight, very dense, skin. This skin rivals titanium in characteristics such as flexibility and density. Vaashtaanii have intricately tattooed faces. These tattoos are always in black and generally cover at least 35% of the face. Vaashtaanii receive these tattoos at their coming of age and the "ink" that is used never fades. History The name Vaashtaanii actually means "First Born Children" in Qurinaan. True to their name, the Vaashtaanii are the first true sentient beings that Quriin created to live within Quri which is located in one of the most secluded sections of the Abyss. Much like how other creatures evolved and adapted into full sentience, the Vaashtaanii started off as a primal race although it did not take long for them to take their first steps towards civilization. Being naturally aggressive, the Vaashtaanii have always battled amongst themselves. Once the people started to spread out and inhabit more of the realm different tribes began to form. These tribes would appoint the most powerful warrior as the leader and upheld a tribal government style that resembled a Stratocracy. For no other reason than to show their dominance and superior strength Vaashtaanii tribes would attack other tribes. High levels of breeding and quick maturity allowed for tribal wars to break out often and for years tribes would consume one another until they grew in such size that they would split again and the cycle would start all over again. Tribal takeovers lead to the spread of new technology and teachings and ultimately helped develop a stronger race as a whole since the weak and unintelligent were killed in struggles. When tribes were not fighting they would often trade with one another. With this sort of structure the Vaashtaanii were still able to advance technologically and intellectually very quickly. The Quelling Society Vaashtaanii are a warrior people and live by a strict warrior and religious code; although, they are not an oppressive people by any means. To the Vaashtaanii the body is nothing more than a tool used to serve. They believe that when one passes on their body should be removed as quickly, and as easily, as possible; however, they do harvest part of the brain of their fallen to be taken back to the relatives of the dead. The children of the dead, as well as their life partner, are to eat the portion of the brain in ritual. In this way the Vaashtaanii allow their spirit to be touched by the spirit of the fallen and they believe that the fallen can be called on it times of great need. Religion Vaashtaanii worship, and are expected to worship, the Primordial Quriin. The worship of Quriin is where the ritual of tattooing their faces came from. It is said that Vaashtaanii tattoo their faces to show their belief and dedication to Quriin and they believe that it connects them to Quriin, binding them forever to his very essence. The most fascinating part of this ritual is the outcome which allows the Vaashtaanii to channel the energies necessary to perform an art known as Meiquaan-Ti, a type of magick shrouded in mystery. These tattoos are created using a strange combination of blood and ink. The blood is a mixture of the Vaashtaanii's mother's blood and the blood of a native creature they call a skrovesk, a carnivorous and highly territorial creature somewhat similar to a pangolin. It is the blood of this creature that gives the ink its black color. In the rare case that a Vaashtaanii does not follow Quriin they are excommunicated from their tribe and their clan and must undergo an extremely painful ritual to have the ink of their religious tattoos torn from their skin via Meiquaan-Ti. These Vaashtaanii are referred to as Mesaanii and consider heretics. Killing a heretic has no meaning to a Vaashtaanii and as such the Mesaanii and Vaashtaanii are not hostile to one another unless a Mesaanii is seen too close to a clan or tribe or caught speaking with Vaasthaanii young. The former can provoke hostility but generally end peacefully while the latter is means for extreme hostile action. Names&Language Qurinaan is the language of the Vaashtaanii, created and assigned to them by the Primordial Quriin. Because Qurinaan is uses similar sounds to Common it is very easy for the Vaashtaanii to learn Common and vice-versa. Noteable differences are A's and I's always make a soft vowel sound when doubled up. Other vowels always make a hard vowel sound except for in the case of U when paired with a Q. Vaashtaanii names are generally simple. They consist of a given name, which is usually between 4-5 letters, followed by their tribal name then clan name and ending with their ancestral name. Examples: Siin Krysen'Fy Kento Eni Toho'Meer Quorzaa Known Holdings Subraces Sources